The battle over cyberspace and the Internet in China is often depicted as one of state versus society. The pluralist nature of the Internet means that dissenting voices may undermine the legitimacy of the Chinese Communist Party. Thus, the party-state continually attempts to gain greater control over the Internet through state censorship and the “Great Firewall,” while netizens (citizens of the Internet who are actively involved in online communities) persistently resist censorship and find creative ways to oppose the regime. In Contesting Cyberspace in China, Rongbin Han unpacks this seemingly dichotomous state-society cyber relationship and finds that cyberspace in China is a fragmented and pluralist space. While China scholars over the last several decades have demonstrated a decentralized system with tensions between local and central governments in the areas of public services and economic reforms, Han successfully shows that the same logic applies to cyberspace and control over the...

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